Slot Machines: Methodologies and Myths

The proliferation of legalized gaming has significantly changed the nature of the hospitality industry. While several aspects of gaming have flourished, none has become more popular, profitable, or technologically advanced as the slot machine. While more than half of all casino gambling, and earnings, is generated by slot machines, little has been written about the technology integral to these devices. The author describes the workings of computer-controlled slot machines and exposes some of the popular operating myths.

The Beacon, November 21, 2008

Vol. 21, Issue 43, 8 pages

Board of Governors Meeting-State University System of Florida, Strategic Planning Committee Part A

Board of Governors Meeting of the State University System of Florida, Strategic Planning Committee Part A Meeting held at Graham Center Ballroom, Modesto Maidique Campus, Florida International University on September 14, 2011

This was uncalled for : Dave Eggers' A heartbreaking work of staggering genius subverts the genre of traditional autobiography as an attempt at rendering his life

The purpose of this thesis was to explore why and how the author Dave Eggers subverts the genre of traditional autobiography in his memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. I compared Eggers' work to Gertrude Stein's The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas and William S. Burroughs' Junky. I found that like Stein and Burroughs, Eggers utilized various rhetorical devices outside of traditional autobiography because he could not find the means to express himself within the genre. Eggers employed various rhetorical methods reserved for fictional texts, such as stream of consciousness, characterization, and irony, in order to reconcile his feelings towards his parents' deaths and render those feelings in his memoir. I established that Eggers concluded his memoir with impossibility of arriving at one Meaning that could summate his tragic experience. Thus, I proved that Eggers gave the reader the only authentic interpretation he could: the memoir as a small, incomplete glimpse into his life.

The review panel visiting TS/Ph-3 during the 2009 Midterm Review

http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/fce_lter_photos/1265/thumbnail.jpg

Global compilation of benthic data sets I

Approaches to quantify the organic carbon accumulation on a global scale generally do not consider the small-scale variability of sedimentary and oceanographic boundary conditions along continental margins. In this study, we present a new approach to regionalize the total organic carbon (TOC) content in surface sediments (<5 cm sediment depth). It is based on a compilation of more than 5500 single measurements from various sources. Global TOC distribution was determined by the application of a combined qualitative and quantitative-geostatistical method. Overall, 33 benthic TOC-based provinces were defined and used to process the global distribution pattern of the TOC content in surface sediments in a 1°x1° grid resolution. Regional dependencies of data points within each single province are expressed by modeled semi-variograms. Measured and estimated TOC values show good correlation, emphasizing the reasonable applicability of the method. The accumulation of organic carbon in marine surface sediments is a key parameter in the control of mineralization processes and the material exchange between the sediment and the ocean water. Our approach will help to improve global budgets of nutrient and carbon cycles.

Vertical profiles of environmental parameters measured on discrete water samples collected with Niskin bottles at station TARA_145 during the Tara Oceans expedition 2009-2013

The Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013) was a global survey of ocean ecosystems aboard the Sailing Vessel Tara. It carried out extensive measurements of evironmental conditions and collected plankton (viruses, bacteria, protists and metazoans) for later analysis using modern sequencing and state-of-the-art imaging technologies. Tara Oceans Data are particularly suited to study the genetic, morphological and functional diversity of plankton. The present data set includes properties of seawater, particulate matter and dissolved matter that were measured from discrete water samples collected with Niskin bottles during the 2009-2013 Tara Oceans expedition. Properties include pigment concentrations from HPLC analysis (10 depths per vertical profile, 25 pigments per depth), the carbonate system (Surface and 400m; pH (total scale), CO2, pCO2, fCO2, HCO3, CO3, Total alkalinity, Total carbon, OmegaAragonite, OmegaCalcite, and dosage Flags), nutrients (10 depths per vertical profile; NO2, PO4, N02/NO3, SI, quality Flags), DOC, CDOM, and dissolved oxygen isotopes. The Service National d'Analyse des Paramètres Océaniques du CO2, at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie, determined CT and AT potentiometrically. More than 200 vertical profiles of these properties were made across the world ocean. DOC, CDOM and dissolved oxygen isotopes are available only for the Arctic Ocean and Arctic Seas (2013).

Cyclostratigraphy and eccentricity tuning of the early Oligocene through early Miocene record from Walvis Ridge

Few astronomically calibrated high-resolution (<=5 kyr) climate records exist that span the Oligocene-Miocene time interval. Notably, available proxy records show responses varying in amplitude at frequencies related to astronomical forcing, and the main pacemakers of global change on astronomical time-scales remain debated. Here we present newly generated X-ray fluorescence core scanning and benthic foraminiferal stable oxygen and carbon isotope records from Ocean Drilling Program Site 1264 (Walvis Ridge, southeastern Atlantic Ocean). Complemented by data from nearby Site 1265, the Site 1264 benthic stable isotope records span a continuous ~13-Myr interval of the Oligo-Miocene (30.1-17.1 Ma) at high resolution (~3.0 kyr). Spectral analyses in the stratigraphic depth domain indicate that the largest amplitude variability of all proxy records is associated with periods of ~3.4 m and ~0.9 m, which correspond to 405- and ~110-kyr eccentricity, using a magnetobiostratigraphic age model. Maxima in CaCO3 content, d18O and d13C are interpreted to coincide with ~110 kyr eccentricity minima. The strong expression of these cycles in combination with the weakness of the precession- and obliquity-related signals allow construction of an astronomical age model that is solely based on tuning the CaCO3 content to the nominal (La2011_ecc3L) eccentricity solution. Very long-period eccentricity maxima (~2.4-Myr) are marked by recurrent episodes of high-amplitude ~110-kyr d18O cycles at Walvis Ridge, indicating greater sensitivity of the climate/cryosphere system to short eccentricity modulation of climatic precession. In contrast, the responses of the global (high-latitude) climate system, cryosphere, and carbon cycle to the 405-kyr cycle, as expressed in benthic d18O and especially d13C signals, are more pronounced during ~2.4-Myr minima. The relationship between the recurrent episodes of high-amplitude ~110-kyr d18O cycles and the ~1.2-Myr amplitude modulation of obliquity is not consistent through the Oligo-Miocene. Identification of these recurrent episodes at Walvis Ridge, and their pacing by the ~2.4-Myr eccentricity cycle, revises the current understanding of the main climate events of the Oligo-Miocene.

Age determinations of bottom sediments from the Sea of Okhotsk by different methods

On the base of data on benthic foraminifera and sediment biogeochemistry (contents of total organic carbon, calcium carbonate and biogenic opal) in two cores (1265 and 1312 m water depth) from the southeastern Sakhalin slope and one core (839 m water depth) from the southwestern Kamchatka slope variations of the oxygen minimum zone during the last 50 ka in the Okhotsk Sea are reconstructed. The oxygen minimum zone was less pronounced during cooling in the MIS 2 that is suggested to be caused by maximal expansion of the sea ice cover, decrease of marine productivity and increase of production of oxygenated Okhotsk Sea Intermediate Water (OSIW). Two-step-like strengthening of oxygen minimum zone during warmings in the Terminations 1a and 1b was combined with (1) enhanced oxygen consumption due to decomposition of large amount of organic matter in the water column and bottom sediments due to increased marine productivity and supply of terrigenous material from submerged northern shelves; (2) sea ice cover retreat and reduction of OSIW production; (3) freely inflow of the oxygen-depleted intermediate water mass from the North Pacific.

The incidence of postoperative venous thrombosis among patients with ulcerative colitis

Background: Patients with Ulcerative Colitis (UC) have inherent prothrombotic tendencies. It is unknown whether this necessitates the use of additional perioperative anti-thrombotic prophylaxis when such patients require major surgery. Methods: The postoperative courses of 79 patients with UC undergoing 180 major abdominal and pelvic operations were examined for clinical and radiological evidence of venous thrombosis. Eighteen patients with Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP) having surgery (35 operations) of similar magnitude were also studied. Standard anti-thrombosis prophylaxis was utilised in all patients. Results: Nine patients with UC were clinically suspected of developing postoperative venous thrombosis, but only three (3.8%) had their diagnosis confirmed radiologically (all had a pulmonary embolus). Therefore, the overall postoperative thrombosis rate, on an intention to treat basis, was 1.7% (3/180). No patient with FAP developed significant venous thrombosis. Conclusion: Standard perioperative antithrombotic modalities are sufficient to maintain any potential increase in postoperative thrombotic risk at an acceptable level in patients with UC undergoing operative intervention.

Análisis de una política universitaria : El caso del ProProE en la FCNyM de la UNLP

Este trabajo apunta al análisis del programa denominado ProProE (Programa de Promoción de Egreso de las Carreras de Grado), como política pública, implementado en la Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo de la Universidad Nacional de La Plata con el objetivo de acompañar hasta la graduación a los alumnos avanzados que han tenido demoras o detenimientos hacia la finalización de sus trayectorias. Se exponen los antecedentes existentes en la UNLP, las características del programa, con sus diferentes etapas, y evaluación final, el material considerado de interés para su investigación, y se desarrolla el marco teórico metodológico con el que se abordó la investigación. El estudio de las políticas universitarias como herramientas que apuntan al progreso y egreso de todos los estudiantes, sus aplicaciones y los resultados de las mismas es fundamental para comprender de qué modo las autoridades universitarias enfrentan fenómenos como el de la heterogeneización y masificación matricular. Se describe la experiencia desarrollada en la FCNyM, considerando los diferentes desempeños y vivencias vinculados a los gestores del programa, los alumnos incorporados, y los docentes que trabajaron en el mismo. Respecto a sus resultados se exponen los progresos y el objetivo futuro de rediseño y aplicación del programa considerando lo relevado en la primera experiencia de aplicación

Análisis de una política universitaria : El caso del ProProE en la FCNyM de la UNLP

Este trabajo apunta al análisis del programa denominado ProProE (Programa de Promoción de Egreso de las Carreras de Grado), como política pública, implementado en la Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo de la Universidad Nacional de La Plata con el objetivo de acompañar hasta la graduación a los alumnos avanzados que han tenido demoras o detenimientos hacia la finalización de sus trayectorias. Se exponen los antecedentes existentes en la UNLP, las características del programa, con sus diferentes etapas, y evaluación final, el material considerado de interés para su investigación, y se desarrolla el marco teórico metodológico con el que se abordó la investigación. El estudio de las políticas universitarias como herramientas que apuntan al progreso y egreso de todos los estudiantes, sus aplicaciones y los resultados de las mismas es fundamental para comprender de qué modo las autoridades universitarias enfrentan fenómenos como el de la heterogeneización y masificación matricular. Se describe la experiencia desarrollada en la FCNyM, considerando los diferentes desempeños y vivencias vinculados a los gestores del programa, los alumnos incorporados, y los docentes que trabajaron en el mismo. Respecto a sus resultados se exponen los progresos y el objetivo futuro de rediseño y aplicación del programa considerando lo relevado en la primera experiencia de aplicación

Dos perspectivas modernas del infierno dantesco en la poesía de Jorge Luis Borges y Amelia Biagioni

A setecientos cincuenta años del nacimiento de Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), el trabajo se propone cotejar la representación dantesca del Infierno con textos poéticos de Jorge Luis Borges y de Amelia Biagioni. El infierno dantesco presenta múltiples correlaciones con el mundo ultraterreno virgiliano, aunque construido en clave medieval. A su vez, las palabras introductorias de Borges anticipan la vigencia del clásico florentino en la literatura argentina. El texto medieval actúa como disparador de múltiples variaciones interpretativas en ambos poetas del siglo XX quienes construyen otros ?infiernos?, más acordes a corrientes filosóficas contemporáneas. Se realizará un análisis del poema borgiano ?Del Infierno y del cielo? (1942), teniendo en cuenta el paulatino interés que en esos años expresa el escritor por la Commedia del escritor medieval. Amelia Biagioni en su poemario ?El Humo? (1967), retoma los versos dantescos y construye asimismo otro infierno, un infierno personal, cerrado e íntimo que desintegra al sujeto, aniquilándolo. El cotejo de ambos escritores argentinos con Dante, pone en tensión dialógica perspectivas muy diferentes como receptores y poetas de diversas épocas históricas.

Análisis de una política universitaria : El caso del ProProE en la FCNyM de la UNLP

Este trabajo apunta al análisis del programa denominado ProProE (Programa de Promoción de Egreso de las Carreras de Grado), como política pública, implementado en la Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo de la Universidad Nacional de La Plata con el objetivo de acompañar hasta la graduación a los alumnos avanzados que han tenido demoras o detenimientos hacia la finalización de sus trayectorias. Se exponen los antecedentes existentes en la UNLP, las características del programa, con sus diferentes etapas, y evaluación final, el material considerado de interés para su investigación, y se desarrolla el marco teórico metodológico con el que se abordó la investigación. El estudio de las políticas universitarias como herramientas que apuntan al progreso y egreso de todos los estudiantes, sus aplicaciones y los resultados de las mismas es fundamental para comprender de qué modo las autoridades universitarias enfrentan fenómenos como el de la heterogeneización y masificación matricular. Se describe la experiencia desarrollada en la FCNyM, considerando los diferentes desempeños y vivencias vinculados a los gestores del programa, los alumnos incorporados, y los docentes que trabajaron en el mismo. Respecto a sus resultados se exponen los progresos y el objetivo futuro de rediseño y aplicación del programa considerando lo relevado en la primera experiencia de aplicación

Barite Accumulation rates across Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM)

Barite accumulation rates (BAR) have been measured from 12 DSDP/ODP site globally (DSDP site 525, 549 and ODP site 690, 738, 1051, 1209, 1215, 1220, 1221, 1263,1265 and 1266A) to reconstruct the export production across Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) around 55.9 million year ago. Our results suggesting a general increase in export productivity. We propose that changes in marine ecosystems, resulting from high atmospheric partial pressure of CO2 and ocean acidification, led to enhanced carbon export from the photic zone to depth, thereby increasing the efficiency of the biological pump. We estimate that an annual carbon export flux out of the euphotic zone and into the deep ocean waters could have amounted to about 15 Gt during the PETM. About 0.4% of this carbon is expected to have entered the refractory dissolved organic pool, where it could be sequestered from the atmosphere for tens of thousands of years. Our estimates are consistent with the amount of carbon redistribution expected for the recovery from the PETM.